COVID-19
COVID-19 updates and alerts, Massachusetts Gaming Commission
Massachusetts laws
St.2016, c.219, §§ 135 and 137, as amended by St.2018, § 154 Legalizing daily fantasy sports (DFS).
MGL c.10, §§ 37-40 Beano, raffles, compulsive gambling
Massachusetts regulations
205 CMR Mass. Gaming Commission
940 CMR 12 Regulations governing raffles
940 CMR 13 Regulations governing bazaars
940 CMR 30 Illegal lotteries, sweepstakes and de facto gambling establishments
940 CMR 34 Daily fantasy sports contest operators in Massachusetts
961 CMR Mass. Lottery Commission
Federal laws
15 USC §§ 1171-1173 Johnson Act. Regulates transportation of gambling devices
25 USC §§ 2701 et seq. Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Sets the terms for how tribes can operate casinos and bingo parlors. Enables off-reservation land for casinos. Defines the 3 classes of gaming.
31 USC §§ 5361-5367 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 Prohibits companies from accepting money for internet gambling if the gambling is illegal under existing federal or state laws. Addresses the transfer of funds to online casinos.
Federal regulations
25 CFR 290 Tribal revenue allocation plans
25 CFR 291 Class III gaming procedures. Used when a state and an Indian tribe are unable to voluntarily agree to a compact and "the State has asserted its immunity from suit brought by an Indian tribe under 25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(7)(B)."
25 CFR 292 Gaming on trust lands acquired after October 17, 1988. "Articulates standards that the BIA will follow in interpreting the various exceptions to the gaming prohibitions contained in section 2719 of IGRA."
25 CFR Chapter III National Indian Gaming Commission regulations
Selected case law
Buzulis v. Mohegan Sun Casino, 69 Mass.App.Ct. 708 (2007)
Gaming disputes. Court of the Mohegan Tribe had exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over the action.
Connecticut National Bank of Hartford v. Richard Kommit, 31 Mass.App.Ct. 348 (1991).
An often-cited case that discusses the collection of a credit card debt for a cash advance by a Massachusetts resident to be used for gambling in Atlantic City, under a credit card contract generally governed by Connecticut law.
DeCosmo v. Blue Tarp Redevelopment, LLC, 487 Mass. 690 (2021)
Court concluded that the 2019 rules permitted a Massachusetts casino to pay odds of six to five to a player who was dealt a winning blackjack hand, while not otherwise adhering to the requirements for the "6 to 5 blackjack variation" that were articulated in those rules, including the layouts of the blackjack tables.
In re: Daily Fantasy Sports Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, In re: DraftKings, Inc., Fantasy Sports Litigation, In re: FanDuel, Inc., Fantasy Sports Litigation, 158 F.Supp.3d 1375 (2016)
80 actions or potential tag-along actions, pending in multiple districts, involving allegations of improper or illegal conduct by the operators of 2 online daily fantasy sports contests. Centralization was warranted, and District of Massachusetts was appropriate transferee district.
Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Community, 572 U.S. 782, (2014)
Tribal sovereign immunity.
Murphy v. NCAA, __ U.S. __, 138 S. Ct. 1461 (May 14, 2018)
The Federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which bars states from permitting gambling on sports, is an unconstitutional infringement on states' rights.
New Hampshire Lottery Commission v. Rosen, 986 F.3d 38 (2021)
A Wire Act provision criminalizing certain gambling activities that used interstate wires applies only to wire communications related to any “sporting event or contest” and so do not bar the internet transactions of state lotteries and their vendors.
Agencies
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Responsible for recognizing tribes and tribal land, revenue allocation, and more
Department of Justice Office of Tribal Justice
OTJ is the primary point of contact for the Department of Justice's government to government relationship with Indian tribes.
Massachusetts Attorney General’s Gaming Enforcement Division
Enforces the Expanded Gaming Act of 2011. Investigates and prosecutes illegal activity including gaming-related financial crime, organized crime, corruption, and money laundering.
Massachusetts Gaming Commission
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is responsible for implementing the expanded gaming law passed in November 2011.
National Indian Gaming Commission
Has primary responsibility to oversee Indian gaming
Office of Problem Gambling Services, Mass. Dept. of Public Health
Resources for those facing gambling addiction.
Web sources
Attorney General's FAQs about nonprofit gaming events
An informative FAQ for charities and nonprofits interested in conducting a gaming event
Guidance on raffles, Mass. Attorney General
Information on the rules and guidelines to follow if your organization is considering holding a raffle in Massachusetts.
Guide to taxes: gambling and lottery winnings, Mass. Department of Revenue
Explains how to report gambling and lottery winnings
Massachusetts sports betting: Is legal sports betting available in Massachusetts?, USA Today Sports Book Wire, April 8, 2020.
Summary of current Mass. law on sports betting.
NIGC Bulletin 05-1 Use of net gaming revenues bulletin, National Indian Gaming Commission
Bulletin was written "to encourage tribes to employ policies and procedures in their expenditure of tribal gaming revenues that comply with IGRA and will minimize complaints and misunderstanding among the tribal membership and interested outside parties."
The tip of the iceberg: daily fantasy sports a harbinger of future regulatory challenges, 60 Boston Bar Journal 29, Spring 2016
Unlawful internet gambling enforcement act of 2006: overview, FDIC
Provides detailed summary of the law and sets procedures for reviewing compliance by financial institutions.
White paper on daily fantasy sports by Mass. Gaming Commission. January 11, 2016.
Print sources
Cohen's handbook of Federal Indian law, by Felix S. Cohen. LexisNexis, with supplement.
Criminal law, 3rd ed. (Mass. practice v. 32) West Pub. Co., 2001 with supplement; Chapter 23, Gaming.
Deal or no deal (Audio CD) Transacting in Native America, American Bar Association, 2008.
Gaming law in a nutshell, by Walter T. Champion, Jr. and I. Nelson Rose. West, 2018.
The law of regulated gambling: a practical guide for business lawyers, ed. Keith Miller, American Bar Association, 2020.
Massachusetts proof of cases, West, annual, with supplement. Chapter 51, Gaming offenses
Summary of basic law, Mass. practice v.14A, West, annual. Chapter 7, Gaming offenses, §§ 7.274-7.278.
The Supreme Court and tribal gaming: California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, by Ralph A. Rossum. University Press of Kansas, c2011.
Contact
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| Last updated: | April 1, 2022 |
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